A man drowned this morning in an alleged attempt to flee a drug raid in the same canal in Ho Chi Minh City where a bag snatcher drowned more than two months ago, also while trying to evade police.

The man's body was found and retrieved from the Tau Hu canal in Dist. 8 at noon, three hours after he and another man jumped into it, reportedly trying to cross from Ben Binh Dong St. to Vo Van Kiet St., also known as East West Highway, on the other side.

Witnesses said the other man made it to the other side of the canal.

His identity is yet unknown.

According to a VietnamNet report, the men were trying to cross Tau Hu canal to flee a police drug raid in an alley in Ben Binh Dong St.

Halfway across the canal, however, one of them seemed exhausted. Some locals threw him a bouy, while some others jumped into the canal to save him, but in vain.

After his body was recovered, police found one syringe in his pants pocket.

Since Saturday, the authorities of HCMC has launched a campaign to round up local drug addicts and send them to compulsory rehab centers.

In late September, a bag snatcher drowned in Tau Hu canal while he was trying to escape police chase after his robbery attempt was foiled.